Short Bowel and Intestinal Rehabilitation Program

Intestinal failure can be caused by many different medical conditions that lead to the intestine not being able to sustain normal growth and development. The most common cause of intestinal failure is a condition called Short Bowel Syndrome. This occurs when we need to surgically remove significant portions of the intestine resulting in a much shorter bowel. Other causes of intestinal failure include conditions that affect the nervous system of the gastrointestinal tract or conditions such as Chronic Intestinal Pseudo obstruction and Hirschsprung’s Disease.

When children develop Short Bowel Syndrome the remaining intestine naturally starts to adapt in many different ways. The process of Intestinal Rehabilitation is a long process during which we stimulate the intestine to grow, adapt, and become more efficient. We do this through nutritional, medical, and surgical therapies. Some children who develop intestinal failure will often need different forms of nutrition including tube feeds and IV nutrition called Total Parenteral Nutrition or TPN.

We know that the process of intestinal rehabilitation can be a long and hard journey. While we often meet you while you are in the hospital, we partner with your child and your family to be able to undergo the process of intestinal rehabilitation at home. Our expert medical team has decades of experience managing intestinal rehabilitation and IV nutrition and we look forward to working with you and your child.